. Sunday, September 12, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DRILY Page Seven Sunday, September 1 2, 1 971 WE MViHIGAN DAILY Page Seven SEffects of new student voters on Ann Arbor politics unclear fi ........................................................................................................................ X". .. . (Continued from Page 1) Currently there are only about 40,000 registered voters in the city -causing people to wonder if the experience of Berekely and Mad- ison can be repeated in Ann Arbor. Members of the city's Human' Rights-Radical Independent Par- ty (HR-RIP) . think it can, and have been working since the par- ty's establishment last spring to build a r a'd i c a 1 political base among students in the commun- ity. Steve Nissen, HR-RIP spokes- man, predicts HR-RIP may be able to control three of the city's five wards "in three to five years". As long as the number of stu- ' dent voters which go to the Dem- ocratic candidates is not substan- tially greater than the number of non-student votes that HR-RIP receives, HR-RIP will be success- ful, Nissen asserts. The likelihood of such an equal trade-off, however, is discounted by many city politicians. Leading layout of the city and its ward ward boundaries and move them boundaries. over a few blocks.' The city is divided into five If only slight changes from the wedge-shaped w a r d s emanating present disposition of the wardsr from the center of the city which are made, certain patterns are fan ut o tat achencmpaseslikely to appear in the upcoming fa ou sot tthat each encompasesut ctdeleton a t central city as well, as outlying ityeetos residential neighborhoods. The second ward, historically di- It is this ward system. devised vided between more liberal stu- in 1967 under a Republican ad- dent - dominated central pre- ministration, which, in part, regu- cincts and more conservative out- lates the character of the city's lying ones,has experienced many tight elections. politics. With almost all students eligible In the first, second and third to register now, as compared with wards, the narrow tips of which limited' student participation in extend into heavily student popu- the past, student influence in this lated areas near campus, students ward is likely to be considerable. may for the first time have a real- Similarly, the third ward's cen- istic chance to influence city poli- tral precincts are inhabited large- tics. ly by students, and depending on By law, the city must redistrict how many students register, it too after everyy census, and a com- should come under increased stu- mittee, appointed by city council, dent influence. is presently studying the problem s Ward one may have the most of redrawing the ward boun- potential of all due to its unique daries. composition. It is divided between Final approval of a redistricting student and predominantly black plan, however, lies with the Re-' areas. This combination has tra- publican party by virtue of its one ditionally led to Democratic dom- vote majority on council. inance but successful recruiting by Harris fears the Republicans HR-RIP, coupled with an awak-I may use this power to draw wards ening of a now dormant student- so as to minimize the growing po- black alliance, could bring changes. tential of student voting power. The other wards, numbers four He further speculates that the re- and five, however, are likely to districting of the city may end up remain in Republican hands due in court due to the importance of to their largely middle-class com-I the issue. position. ile e utumn f7 Join in Preview of the SUNDAY-Sept. 12 Autnn of '71 with 5:00 food, fun, and info from Picnuc a! the Wesley Foundatlon. Sta/e and 111uron Tnvitation to A . AL S 1 ANNE OF A THOUSAND DAYS Tuesday-Sept.-14 only Aud. A Angell Hall 7:00 & 9:30 p.m.-still 75c ann arbor film cooperative Be part of the International Set JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS t ASSOCIATION OPEN MEETING Tuesday, Sept. 14--7:30 p.m. UNION BALLROOM Subscribe to The Michigan Daily R mmummin aJ Are you czir Ii WE NEED YOU As subjects for Colorvision experiments. WE WILL PAY YOU TO WHAT 4 Great In$ i ut n Call Fred 764-0574 t ! Democrats are optimistic their liberal programs will appeal to the majority of the new voters. Councilman Robert Faber (D- 2nd Ward) expresses confidence that students will continue their past support of the Democratic party. "We will continue to get the' bulk of - the (student) vote, re- gardless." he says. "HR-RIP," Fa- ber adds, "will not get near to 501 per cent" of the student vote. Councilman James Stephenson, (R-4th Ward), agrees, saying the new student vote is almost certain to aid his Democratic opponents in coming elections. In the second ward, which con- tains a considerable student popu- lation, leading Republicans say incumbent Republican R o b e rt Weaver faces an uphill battle for re-election. Weaver, admits that should he seek re - election, his affiliation with the Republicans could hurt his chances. Recent polls of the campus show that while Democrats do surpass Republicans in popularity among University students, the students, by and large are independent of party affiliation. The Democrats say they can hold on to their present allies and still get the votes of a ma- jority of the independents. HR-RIP, however, says the in- dependents can be convinced to support their party, and defections will be garnered fro mthe Demo- cratic camp. As Democratic Mayor Robert Harris puts it, "Much de- pends on. wiat the, HR-RIP-Dem-1 ocratic split among student voters is." Another factor controlling the' extent and nature of student in- fluence in the city is the physical For the student body: FLARES by SLevi Farah Wright Lee * Male CHECKMATE State Street at Liberty --- ------ - - - - Interested in Change? JCS JOIN (formerly U-M Tutorial Proect) Thomas A. Moorehead; Director WEDNESDAYS T 15 2nd floor U NIO ALL -- PROGRAMS 7_72 * Ann Arbor Innoatie Eucaion I DO THESE CLEAN-CUT AMERICANS BELONG? E City charter, however, strictly limits the power of the council to redraw the wards says redistrict-, ing committee chairman Robert Grace. "Our hands are tied", he says, complaining that the com- mittee can do little but "erase Borders Book Shop fine used books art books Sall paperbacks 1/2 price A we order new books A we search out of print titles Now at a new location 518 E. WILLIAM corner of Maynard & William 668-7653 For the student body: LEVI'S CORDUROY Slim Fits . . . $6.98 (All Colors ) I Bells 8.50 DENIM ' Bush Jeans . $10.00 Bells ....... Pre-Shrunk Super Slims $8.00 $7.50 $7.00 CHECKMATE State Street at Liberty Project " Ann Arbor Day Care PrjectIP * Black Liberation School " Matrix (Resource Center) * Mental Health Hallway Houe " Project Community Course * Solstis Free School " Washtenaw Community College Project . Willis Community Action Project - Willow Run Counseling Proect IH D lELY? The U of M Gilbert and Sullivan You Bet! What other great campus hangout embraces people of all hair lengths, writing inabilities, and political persuasions?, Only the Michigan Daily. If you're interested in being part of all this, come to our "'ASS EE G I Society MIKADO Mass Meeting Dancers, Singers. Tech. 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